


'you wake up with a hatchet over your head': A Goro Akechi essay

by lady_peony



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Meta, Persona 5 Spoilers, warnings in the beginning notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 17:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11605440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_peony/pseuds/lady_peony
Summary: Goro Akechi didnothingsome things wrong, and other thoughts.





	'you wake up with a hatchet over your head': A Goro Akechi essay

**Author's Note:**

> +this is really chidorinnnnn's fault  
> +[original tumblr post here](http://qserasera.tumblr.com/post/163356344279/you-wake-up-with-a-hatchet-over-your-head-a)  
> +essay title [from this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7UsQIx14CE)
> 
> + **Warnings: SPOILERS for persona 5 while striving to keep them as vague as possible, mentions of violence, murder, child abuse/neglect**

because [@chidorinnnnn](https://tmblr.co/moRmW0bTEZDIsQXtPwJ1c9Q) 

**you:** sends an ask, expecting 1 paragraph. maybe 2.  
**me, a fandom nerd with zero chill:** here is a multi-page phd book club essay. 

+some of these points may bounce off ideas from your own posts: the [1st akechi post here](http://chidorinnnnn.tumblr.com/post/163163857292/sometimes-the-way-%20%20persona-5-handles-cases-of), [2nd akechi post here](http://chidorinnnnn.tumblr.com/post/163204400842/yea-and-imo-akechi-as-a-%20%20cautionary-tale-is-shitty).  


before i really start going, let's go over a few things:

**why do you even want to write about goro akechi? he is a bad character who did bad things!**

why write about akechi? why care about him at all?  
i) first and foremost, he is a _fictional_ character  
ii) he is a fictional character who is not directly linked or based upon any specific real life people/hate groups who committed atrocities or deeds that hurt others

iii) ["Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another; rather, it teaches us to abide with the fact that, in their own way, all things are true, and helps us, in the face of this terrifying knowledge, continually push ourselves in the direction of Open the Hell Up."— George Saunders](http://theladyragnell.tumblr.com/post/162574946728/fiction-is-a-kind-of-compassion-generating-machine)

people have been exploring dark, messy situations in fiction for as long as we have been telling stories. see: shakespeare and titus andronicus.  
see: tv shows and nbc hannibal. this is not a new thing.   
  
there are also issues with many different media canons that people can pick up on and pick apart;  like " _wow, why is there only 1 female character in your cast with ten guys_ " or " _this depiction of a specific mental illness is inaccurate and questionable on how much research they did about it._ " this is all well and good. these issues _can and should be_ discussed about the canon.  
  
there is however, a big difference between typing a blog post about a piece of mainstream media that goes " _these scenes/tropes are iffy and have awful implications_ " versus telling a fandom artist directly that " _your art is bad because it is about a character i hate, stop making it_!"   
  
( _a caveat_ : there can be healthy discussions within fandoms about problems/issues! just stop and think _very very very carefully_ beforehand if the best way to do it is by sending negative messages to another fan! 101% of the time,  **don't do it** )  
  
as a last point, there was a post i’ve seen before with the main point that  **'your emotions are valid / that does not always mean your actions because of your emotions are always right or healthy.'**  a good principle to keep in mind when in fandom. be kind to each other, writers, artists, all.  
  
coincidentally, this all ties into akechi's character in this analysis.  
  
**1\. goro akechi did bad things!**  
yes, this is true  
  
**2\. goro akechi did bad things and made bad decisions! he could have made better decisions!**  
yes, this is true.  
  
**3\. so why didn't akechi make better decisions?!!**  
good question: _why didn't he?_  
  
akechi had other choices, true; BUT due to both **his own actions** and **the surrounding environment** , those choices were limited. what was the environment like around akechi’s life, from his backstory?

 _i) the single mother stigma_  
if the mother is single or widowed, significantly more stress is placed by  
the surrounding culture on them. not because of anything the mother or the child has done, but because of cultural expectations about what the perfect model family is supposed to look like.

this stigma is mentioned in some of the other social links; ryuji is one example (who grew up with his mother, and without a father), hifumi togo the shogi playing girl (raised by a widowed mother), the young gamer boy; they have problems in part because of cultural prejudices that they will be no-good children without a father figure, or some conflict from the mother's fear that they're disappointing the standards of what motherhood is supposed to be.  
  
_ii) the bastard son stigma_  
this stigma shows up pretty consistently across a lot of cultures, at least ones where all the importance is placed predominantly on the father’s bloodline; a bastard son _might, might_ be able to get some rights or acknowledgement from the father, but all in all, do not count as part of the family, will not have all the protection that comes with a family name.  
  
within the game, akechi speaks a few disparaging lines on his mother, and the no-good man she didn’t marry.  
  
or in sum:  
**Don John, "the Bastard Prince":**  
_I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in_  
_his grace, and it better fits my blood to be_  
_disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob_  
_love from any: in this, though I cannot be said to_  
_be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied_  
_but I am a plain-dealing villain._  
—“Much Ado About Nothing”  
  
_iii) akechi's one living relative was the exact opposite of a good parent._  
this relative treated people around him as tools just for his own self-gain, in categories of useful/is now useless, can be assassinated.

think: shinji's father, [gendo ikari 2.0](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FingerTenting).   
think: _a total dick_.  
  
in one of your previous posts, which i think you mention how japan’s culture places more priority on the community side in the community/individual type of spectrum; on the flip side, any member associated with a social group that has a member counted as a criminal will also carry blame for that crime. this is more related to the question of re: why didn't akechi just expose his relative's terrible crimes. there’s also the possibility of retaliation from this relative; bodily harm, threats, false imprisonment; almost anything goes. 

since akechi has **already** shown his useful powers to this relative, there is no chance he would just be allowed to up and live quietly in peace.  
  
**4\. akechi’s home life was bad, fine. why didn’t he try other options?**  
as a teenager, if he didn’t have a family or a community, he would be left without protection or few future prospects. what would his options be, if his mother was gone?

akechi is 17 years old at the beginning of P5; his backstory takes us to the time when he was 15, maybe 14. 

 _i) could he go into the foster system or get adopted?_  
is it realistic for a 15 year old to be adopted? and just from a glimpse different types of media about the foster system in different countries, it’s not always the most ideal set-up for children or young teens.   
  
_ii) he could live with extended relatives!_  
see above point: the bastard son stigma. see also: harry potter, the dursleys. see: tohru honda of fruits basket who _was_ living with blood relatives and instead opted to run away and _live in a tent by herself_ in a forest. it’s unknown if akechi ever tried to contact any other relatives; as a bastard son, there’s no guarantee either that he would be treated well at all. 

 _iii) he could...live by himself?_  
teens in japanese media are usually shown as pretty independent, but living on his own means in tokyo? idk buddy. a quick google shows that average apartment rental in tokyo could be $75,000 yen or up. akira kurusu can earn enough working in the beef bowl shop to buy ramen for ryuji or cake for ann, probably, but not enough for an apartment.   
  
**5\. Why do people like Akechi’s character anyways?**

he started from a bad place, ended up going down worse paths for his idea of revenge. akechi’s anger, bitterness, were all his own emotions to feel and understandable from circumstances; his actions also undeniably harmed others.

+did akechi kill people, directly caused their deaths? _yes._  
+did he do it for any noble reasons at all? _no, no, definitely no._  
+was he selfish and angry and did bloody acts for his own personal reasons? _yes._  
+is he on the same level as a full-grown adult who is responsible for doing bad things? _no._

 _did he have the potential to do good, instead?_ he does. he **did** do something that was good, albeit resulting in his own self-sacrifice.  
  
there’s no cancelling the harm akechi did before, even if they were for understandable reasons, on some level (those words he was taunted with, by the doppelganger with his face: **you wanted to be acknowledged? you wanted to be loved?** )  
  
we like our heroes, hopeful and fighting and compassionate; and we can like our morally gray favorites; we cheer on miles edgeworth after his character development, love zuko’s redemption arc in atla. 

there is no reason why fandom wouldn't be interested in examining akechi's character too, wishing what if, what if, **what if?  
("if only you had shown up earlier, even a few years earlier!")**

**Author's Note:**

> additional readings of interest:
> 
> +a thread on [foster care in japan](http://little-details.livejournal.com/956615.html) (link goes to livejournal). some of the mentioned info from that thread: 
> 
> _A foster parent is called a 'sato-oya' (village-parent')_
> 
> 養子縁組里親 _Yoshi-engumi-sato-oya: one who fosters intending to eventually adopt (2 kinds of adoption available: joint parenting with birth family and cutting the ties with birth family)_
> 
> 短期里親 _Tanki-sato-oya: short term, for example, while the parent is in the hospital. Generally from a few days to a year._
> 
> 養育里親 _You-iku-sato-oya: child-rearing foster parent. Does not plan to adopt, so for children whose parents may eventually want them back or who don't put the child up for adoption. Foster parent takes car of child until their family can take care of them or the child turns 18._
> 
> 親族里親 _Shinzoku-sato-oya: Relative foster parent. Relatives within the thrid degree of relation taking care of a child (for ex, a grandparent or an uncle or aunt).Can recieve the "foster parent living expense" but not the "foster parent supplementary benefit"(satooya teate) Also cannot recieve the Child Support Benefit._
> 
>  _There are also_ 週末里親 _(weekend foster parents) and_ 季節里親 _(seasonal foster parents) who take in children from shisetsu on weekends and holidays._  
>  　  
> 専門里親 _Senmon-sato-oya: Specialist Foster Parent. takes care of abused or handicapped children for up to two years._ _**Can recieve up to three times the usual government supplement for foster care (to cover medical and other expenses)** Must take official study courses._
> 
> +a thread on [legal emancipation of minors in japan](http://little-details.livejournal.com/2719121.html) (link goes to livejournal)  
> +a thread on [adoption laws in japan](http://little-details.livejournal.com/1961355.html) (link goes to livejournal)  
> \+ an explanation of the [ 'psychotic breakdowns' term in the game](https://p5spoilersblog.tumblr.com/post/160739427635/image-credit-hello-naughty-children-i-am-going-to) (link goes to tumblr)


End file.
